


Equilibrium

by smittenbritain



Series: SFW Prompt Fills [8]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 08:08:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14445000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smittenbritain/pseuds/smittenbritain
Summary: Jeremy was hurt, and Ryan couldn’t do a fucking thing about it.





	Equilibrium

**Author's Note:**

> "Jeremwood + 78 ? Please? (Don't be stupid, I'm not leaving you.)"
> 
> Prompt provided by anonymous!

Jeremy was hurt, and Ryan couldn’t do a fucking thing about it.

He was on the other side of Los Santos, a sniper rifle in his hands; the crew was split up into separate tasks - a three (Jack, Jeremy, and Michael), a two (Geoff and Gavin), and Ryan - and it was all going smoothly until approximately three minutes ago. 

While Ryan crouched on a roof and aimed down at his target, Geoff and Gavin were busily feeding him information, and the last three were out drawing police attention and resources elsewhere. Theoretically, it was supposed to make things easier on Ryan’s end, give him more room to do what he needed to in order to make this mission a success. It was a high profile assassination, after all, and even though it was against a pretty shitty criminal, the cops would still end up complicating things for him if they arrived. Sometimes, there was still some small measure of honour in the LS police force.

They were all used to drawing the cops out on a wild goose chase. It happened on a weekly basis, if not a daily one. Running on foot instead was also something they all had experience with; it was a thrill and always terrifying at the same time.

Usually, everyone got out of it just fine. The worst they got was a couple scrapes and bruises.

This time, Jeremy took a bullet.

They all wore protective gear so it couldn’t have hit anything immediately dangerous. Ryan had his eye pressed up to the scope when it happened; his heart stopped when he heard Jeremy cry out in sharp pain over the comms, and he sat bolt upright, his target forgotten.

“Jeremy?”

There was a low hiss, a quiet whimper - then, there was a huff from someone different. _“Got him,”_  Michael promised,  _“Jack’s grabbing a car, we’re gonna get him back-”_

Ryan’s knuckles were white around the butt and barrel of his rifle. “Where’s he hit?” 

 _“Ryan.”_  Geoff’s voice now, stern and firm.  _“We need you to take this guy down. Jeremy’s fine, he’s in good hands-”_

“He’s hurt!” Ryan knew he was being too loud, he knew he was jeopardising things in his panic, but his head was filled with the fast buzz of fear - he wasn’t there, he couldn’t do anything, there was  _no way_  he’d get to Jeremy’s side in time before he arrived at the penthouse again. 

 _“You’re not gonna change anything by leaving now,”_  Geoff said firmly - and Ryan could have growled at the implied command there, but he knew that he was right.  _“Finish the job. Get home. He’ll be fine.”_

Frustration made Ryan’s shoulders go tight with tension as he hunched over his scope again. His fingers trembled on the cool metal as he aligned it with his target again, and he tried to focus his thoughts on what was directly in front of him. It was hard with Jeremy’s cry still ringing in his ears -  _he didn’t know how bad it was, nobody had said where he’d been hit, he didn’t know anything_  - but Ryan forced his attention in onto the one thing he  _could_ change right now: he could remove someone from the world who was too awful even for criminals to stomach.

* * *

It was a couple of hours before Ryan made it home. The penthouse was quiet as he dropped his bag in the hallway, but he knew where to go to find Jeremy.

There was no official infirmary, so they always ended up in their bedrooms when they were hurt. Ryan peered into the living room as he passed, and he spotted the others dotted around the place; it was a good sign if they were settled in, he thought. He could see worry written across his friends’ faces, but they were relatively relaxed - the worst hadn’t happened, then. Still, anxiety rattled around in Ryan’s chest as he moved past the living room and further into the hallway, tracing the familiar steps to reach Jeremy’s room.

He was sat up in bed, his chest bare, when Ryan let himself in. He looked weary and his face was creased with lines of faint pain, but Jeremy cracked a smile when he saw Ryan. “Hey.”

It only took two quick strides before Ryan sat on the edge of the bed, his fingers instantly finding Jeremy’s. “Thank fucking God,” he groaned, clasping his hand in both of his own and raising it to press against his cheek. “What happened?”

“Cop got a lucky shot on me.” Jeremy gestured with a flick of his thumb, pointing back at his bandaged shoulder. “Nothin’ serious, but it hurts like a  _bitch.”_

“I can imagine.” Ryan could  _remember,_  in fact, from the time he’d suffered a similar wound. He exhaled a hard breath, raising his gaze to Jeremy’s face, drinking in the sight of the life there like his own depended on it. “Nobody said what happened. I thought I was gonna lose you.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Jeremy said, fondly bumping his knuckles against Ryan’s cheek. “I’m not leaving you.”

Something welled up in Ryan’s chest and eyes, but he refused to name it or acknowledge it. Instead, he squeezed Jeremy’s fingers between his own, and he pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. “Do you mind if I stay?”

Jeremy’s mask cracked at the question. Softly, he breathed,  _“Please.”_

Ryan instantly pressed into his side, tucking himself in under Jeremy’s good shoulder. He pressed his cheek against his chest to hear the steady thump of his heart, but the touch of Jeremy’s fingers to his hair was what made him melt, and bit by bit, the terrified tension in his shoulders drained away.


End file.
